On this episode of Beyond the Billboard, Greg Wise and I sat down with Nick Bennett — one of the most respected voices in B2B marketing, known for redefining how brands think about field, experiential, and influencer marketing.
Nick’s spent 15 years in the tech world, helping early-stage companies scale through events, ABM, and creative go-to-market plays. He’s also the author of B2B Influencer Marketing, and if you’ve ever seen him on LinkedIn, you know he’s passionate about bringing a more human, hands-on approach to marketing.
Nick calls field marketers “the quarterbacks” of the marketing team — responsible for calling plays, aligning cross-functional partners, and driving outcomes that actually move pipeline.
He’s seen too many companies treat field as logistics or event support. In reality, it should sit at the heart of your GTM motion.
“Sales is your internal customer,” Nick said. “You’re aligning everything — events, ABM, digital, paid, brand — around a single goal: accelerating revenue.”
How to Plan Out-of-Home Like an Event Channel
Most marketers treat out-of-home as an afterthought — a last-minute add-on when there’s leftover budget. Nick says that’s a mistake.
If you treat OOH like an event channel, you plan it three to six months out. You align it with pipeline goals. You measure its impact.
He uses a simple framework: Who, Why, How, What.
- Who – The target accounts and personas.
- Why – The business and emotional reason behind the campaign.
- How – The channels, creative, and partners.
- What – The actual experience — a billboard, LED truck, popup, or something entirely new.
The “why” is what most marketers skip — but it’s the part that makes people care.
“Figure out the one thing that’ll make their life easier,” Nick explained. “That emotional connection is what drives action.”
Make It Emotional. Make It Human.
Nick’s allergic to polished marketing. He believes raw, real creative wins — especially in out-of-home.
“I’d rather see something authentic, even with typos, than something that looks over-produced,” he said.
He shared how relatable, unfiltered creative sparks curiosity and memory: people take pictures, look it up later, and remember the message because it felt human.
It’s not about slapping a logo on a wall — it’s about telling a story that connects to someone’s day.
The Next Big Opportunity: Co-Creating OOH with Creators
One of Nick’s favorite ideas? Blending creator marketing with OOH.
He wants to see more brands collaborate with internal advocates or external creators to design campaign visuals together — the same way consumer brands do.
“If someone you recognize is on that billboard, it’s instantly more relatable,” he said. “Use the people who already have influence in your industry.”
It’s a smart way to extend brand reach, make creative more authentic, and generate shareable social content from real people, not just ads.
Creative That Matches Your Brand’s Personality
Nick also touched on something most marketers overlook — making sure your out-of-home creative reflects your brand’s behavioral archetype.
If your brand’s identity is built around influence, energy, or empowerment, your visuals should look and feel that way — across OOH, social, and events.
“Keep continuity across everything — the tone, the CTA, the visual cues,” he said. “It creates a cohesive experience people actually remember.”
Data, Education, and the Future of Out-of-Home
When Nick started working with OneScreen, he noticed the same challenge many B2B marketers face: they don’t fully understand what OOH is or how to measure it.
His take:
- Education is still the biggest gap. Most marketers don’t know how to evaluate success beyond clicks.
- Measurement just needs a new framework — self-reported attribution, brand lift, or search and engagement signals.
- Cost is misunderstood. “People think OOH means Times Square,” he said. “It’s not expensive when you use it strategically — especially when tied to an event or content moment.”
“It’s not a channel — it’s an experience,” Nick added. “And it’s what breaks through the digital noise.”
Why Out-of-Home Is Just Getting Started
Nick believes OOH is still in its infancy — but the timing couldn’t be better.
Digital channels are saturated, ads are ignored, and attention is shrinking.
OOH offers something real. Tangible. Unskippable.
“Once you see it, you can’t unsee it,” he said. “And once you see how it works — you realize it’s just getting started.”
🎧 Watch or listen to this episode of Beyond the Billboard featuring Nick Bennett wherever you get your podcasts, or on YouTube.